ARTHUR APANSKI

Until 27 September 2014

 

It is not surprising to learn that Arthur studied theatre production, his expansive paintings construct a theatrical narrative. It is surprising, however, to learn that he is a self-taught artist, only coming to painting full-time in 2006 after moving to the Illawarra, south of Sydney.

His meticulous canvases range in subject matter, their hyper-real, almost surreal imagery create a tension between the man-made and the nature world. Arthur is interested in exploring possible futures and the role that we play within that – proactive, political, environmental, humanitarian.

This painting, Excess and hope for little Ethan (2012), fuses notions of fertility and bounty with a darker-side of mortality – grenades, a gas mask and ghostly sculls – probe us to question man’s interruption to that natural cycle.

The cyborg-like male figure composites the nostalgic terror of a gas mask with a mechanical prosthetic limb, probing us to think of the historical markers that interrupt how we navigate our place on this planet.

Is Arthur’s epic painting a message of warning or hope? You will have to decide your own fate – our collective future.